AUPE members reject mediators recommended terms for settlement with the Alberta Cancer Board
EDMONTON – Members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees who work for the Alberta Cancer Board voted overwhelmingly in a province-wide ballot to reject a mediator’s recommended terms for settlement.
A total of 88 per cent of members casting ballots Dec. 11 rejected the recommended terms for settlement.
AUPE Staff Negotiator John Wevers said members have sent their employer a clear and indisputable message: be fair and reasonable to your employees.
“Our members have been working for more than 20 months without a contract and will be without a fair and reasonable settlement for the second Christmas in a row,” said Wevers, who leads the union’s bargaining committee.
“This is unfair to the workers and bad for the Cancer Board. It’s time to reach a negotiated settlement before morale is further damaged and more employees take advantage of the tight labour market to seek work elsewhere.”
The mediator’s recommendations failed to consider fair and reasonable wages and benefits, the continuity and stability of employment in Alberta and the robust economic conditions currently being experienced throughout the province.
The ACB refuses to consider terms and conditions of employment that are similar in other occupations within and outside of the ACB. The board has also failed to exercise normal bargaining flexibility throughout the negotiating process, a position that will only serve to further polarize this employer from its workforce, said Wevers.
“By continuing to take a hard line, this employer is potentially compromising services to patients, cancer research and students studying in medical fields, as well as its loyal employees,” Wevers said. “This makes no sense when the employer is flush with cash and is already having problems recruiting and retaining staff.”
More than 500 AUPE auxiliary nursing members, general support and research staff are employed at ACB facilities throughout the province. They work at facilities including Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute, the Provincial Office and Screen Test North, at Calgary’s Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Holy Cross Centre, and Associate Cancer Clinics in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Grande Prairie.
They have been without a contract since March 31, 2005.
“Fair wages and a reasonable, flexible health benefits account continue to be major hurdles for this employer,” he said.
The Alberta Cancer Board, noted Wevers, received significant additional financial contributions from the provincial government earlier this year, placing it in a sound financial position.
The board received a 23-per-cent increase in operating funding from the Alberta Government earlier in 2006, which represents an operating budget of $239 million for 2005-06. The government also established a $500 million Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund to support initiatives in cancer prevention, screening, education and research.
Negotiations between the parties commenced in May 2005.
For more information, contact;
John Wevers, Union Representative, AUPE, 780-414-7970 or 780-232-9820
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)